Understanding
by Misao Mei Mei
Summary: Their pasts are forever intertwined in a way never to be forgotton. Can one really ever understand the pain of another? one-shot


Understanding

Disclaimer! Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me, but to Nobuhiro Watsuki. Darn, maybe some day ^_^x

_'......'_ signals thoughts

hey, minna-san! yes, I have written yet another one-shot, but I rather like this one. Deals with Aoshi and Megumi, but not in a romantic way

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It was springtime and springtime meant a visit to the Himuras'. Or the Battousai's if you were Aoshi. Misao bounded along the road saying how great it would be to see Kaoru-san and Himura again. And Aoshi being Aoshi just followed her, silently wondering how she could be so energetic after so many hours of non-stop walking.

The Kamiya Dojo slowly came into view. Kaoru spotted them and ran towards them yelling a greeting.

Misao sped up and hugged Kaoru. "It's great to see you again, Kaoru-san"

"Likewise Misao, likewise" she replied happily

The reunion of the men, however, was not as enthusiastic or as friendly, for that matter

"Battousai" Aoshi greeted, although it couldn't really be considered much of a greeting.

"It's nice to see you again, Aoshi-san"

Kaoru ushered the couple into the courtyard. "Megumi-san said that she would come around this time and once she gets here we can go eat!"

Misao cheered. After all that walking, she certainly was hungry. Hungry enough to eat Kaoru's cooking, but hopefully Megumi would be bringing something as well.

"Go away and stop bothering me, Tori-atama!"

"I'm not bothering you, I just want some food!"

The voices in the distance belonged to none other than Sagara Sansuke and Takani Megumi. The bickering couple came into the occupant's visions. As soon as Megumi saw Kenshin she walked over to see him.

"Why hello, Ken-san, how are you today?" She purred. Kaoru's eyebrow twitched.

"I'm quite fine, Megumi-dono." He subtly backed away from Megumi. "Since everyone is here, why don't we get going?"

Everyone readily agreed and the six were off with the women happily chattering in the front and the men quietly trailing behind them.

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After the meal, Sano had dragged Kenshin off to gamble. Kaoru protested, but Sanosuke wouldn't listen. While the two men were fading from her view she yelled, "You better not come back here drunk!"

Kaoru was still a little peeved at the way Kenshin and Sanosuke had left, but was soon cheered up when Misao suggested that they go swimming. And so the pair of girls left saying their goodbyes and that they would return within an hour.

This left Megumi with Aoshi, a man she didn't exactly hate, but she wouldn't exactly put him on her favorite persons list, either.

Megumi rose, preparing to leave. "Well," she said a bit curtly. "it was nice seeing you again, Shinomori-san, but-"

Aoshi interrupted her. "I'm sorry, Takani"

Megumi was clearly surprise. She didn't think that Aoshi would _ever_ apologize to her. Probably because apologizing meant mentioning Hanya, Beshimi, Hyottoko, and Shikojou.

"I know you are" she replied. "But . . . I have to know. Why were you working for Kanryuu anyway?"

Aoshi had a slightly pained look on his face. "My men," he started slowly. "I couldn't leave them for the government. They were like brothers to me. So I took a job where they could come with me too."

"Why couldn't they find jobs from the government like everyone else?"

"They were fighters, from the beginning and to the end. That is what they lived for. The peace in the Meiji would have only clashed with them."

Hearing this, Megumi wasn't just angry, she was infuriated. Aoshi's answer had not, in any way, satisfied her. It had sounded like Aoshi considered them to be barbarians or something of the likes! Surely a man who considers his 'brothers' to be barbarians cannot have true feelings!

"How do you know?!" she demanded. "How can you be so sure that they would have conflicted with the Meiji government?" 

"Don't talk about them like you knew them." he growled.

"If you had just stayed at the Aoiya, they might still be alive and Misao might have had more confidence in herself!"

"Don't you bring Misao into this." he warned, his voice rising.

"You have no idea what it feels like for the most important people in your like to leave do you?" she asked. "To not know if they're dead or alive. To move on or keep hoping."

"Quiet!!" he snapped. "You have no idea what it felt like to see them die, shot two hundred time no less, right in front of your eyes!"

"Do you know how I felt when you threw that knife at me? _'a painful life or an easy death'_" she scoffed. "Because of _you_ I could have been dead multiple times!"

"Do you know how I felt when they died? It shouldn't have been them. Me!! I should have died that say! Me!! Not them!" He stopped and slumped the to ground and leaned against a tree.

All was silent for a few minutes, while both persons let the effects of each other's word sink into them.

After awhile, Megumi sat down next to him and put her hand on his. "I'm sorry." she said sympathetically. "I didn't know you felt that way. But you should think like that. You shouldn't have died anyway. A certain weasel girl I know would have been devastated. She would have been much worse then Kaoru was when Kenshin left for Kyoto."

"I'm sorry." he said again. "I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I was a different man then."

"I know," she smiled slightly. "I understand completely"

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A/N: I've noticed that Aoshi and Megumi never really talked about the whole Kanryuu thing and they might still be holding grudges or something. So there, they've settled thing and are on a relatively good terms. hope ya like 

I hope Aoshi doesn't seem OOC to you. I just think that he chooses his words carefully, so he could say a lot of things or only a little.

PLEASE REVIEW!!


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